


Troubled New Kid

by GranWeirdo



Category: South Park
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Canon-Typical Violence, Comfort/Angst, Constant Re-Editing, Inappropriate Humor, Other, South Park: The Fractured But Whole
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 12:53:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24970012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GranWeirdo/pseuds/GranWeirdo
Summary: [SPOILERS] In the aftermath of Dr. Mephesto's laboratory, the Freedom Pals must travel back in time to stop Cartman from becoming mayor. However, they do yet not realized how stressed and troubled the New Kid is until now...
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	1. Prologue (Slight Edit)

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers ahead if you haven't played South Park: The Fractured But Whole.
> 
> This is my first fanfiction, so constructive and helpful criticisms relating to OOC moments, erronous grammar, and amongst other things are highly appreciated

Douchebag simply stared at the tinfoil-wrapped burrito--or at least something of similar shape--on plate that was sitting on the counter of Freeman's Tacos. They couldn't imagine how bad the New Kid's time-warping fart was going to be with this thing, but if it were that the last person who ate this food results in forming a wormhole where time-travel is possible, then it was probably the key to help the Freedom Pals (plus Call Girl) to stop Mitch Connor (*cough* _Eric Cartman_ *cough*) before anything happened.

"So you're ready to eat the _Seven Layer Quesarrito Chipotle Beefy Nacho Supreme_?" Morgan Freeman, the owner of the restaurant, asked the New Kid as they reach out with their small hands and grabbed the wrapped food.

They simply nodded. The food was still warm as expected. Heedful of the _Seven Layer Quesarrito Chipotle Beefy Nacho Supreme_ , Douchebag unwrapped the food and wolfing down the entire thing down that leaves no evidence but the tinfoil.

Morgan Freeman wasn't kidding when he claimed someone farted so bad that they made time travel possible simply because of some gas wanting to get out through their asshole. The New Kid could already feel something churn within their stomach, which made them somewhat sick; and thus they couldn't help but clutch their abdomen to futilely ease the pain. 

Did the remains of the _Seven Layer Quesarrito Chipotle Beefy Nacho Supreme_ created a time-travel wormhole in their guts or something? Douchebag didn't want to know as they felt the foul-smelling gas beginning to build up in their young rectum.

"Now, you must fart back in time; to before Mitch Conner was sworn into office," Morgan Freeman instructed. "You can do it. You just have to believe in yourself."

Turning around to face their friends, Douchebag took a deep breath before they readied themself, squatting into position for a Time Fart. Nervous beads of perspiration dripped from their forehead as the rest of the Freedom Pals (aside from Craig) watch them with anticipating eyes. As they slowly began to gas up, they noticed the group lean back a little, probably due to the severe mephitic smell that their fart was going to give out later on.

They had to do it; they had to succeed for everyone! If they fail to ripped an ass, this would have been all for naught! How many times have they screwed up till this very point? If they wanted to change everything back to normal and have their parents to be alive, they had--no, must have to do it! As they felt their muscles beginning to contract to force the gas out, the New Kid got ready to send all of them back in time before--

**_"It's the New Kid's fault!"_ **

Their eyes snapped wide open.

**_"... YOU FUCKING ANIMAL!"_ **

**_"If you think about it, this all kind of your fault."_ **

Suddenly, they felt their shoulders being held down by some despondent burden.

**_"Stop wasting time!"_ **

**_"What took you so long, New Kid? You just screwing around having fun?"_ **

**_"Damned it! He screwed us!"_ **

Douchebag felt their lips tremble.

**_"Way to go, New Kid!"_**

**_"Cartman's being sworn as Mayor today, and it's all the New Kid's fault!"_ **

**_"It's over. We've lost."_ **

**_"Thanks to the New Kid, Cartman is Mayor and there's no one left to help us!"_ **

Their body began to quake madly, possibly because of the imaginary burden on their shoulders. 

_No... no..._ the New Kid though to themself. _How much had I fuck the entire team over already?_ The nervous confidence they had before is now replaced with self-loathing. _The reason why Mitch Connor was Mayor in the fucking first place is because of me farted us too forward in time! Who's to say that I, a disastrous mistake of a child, wouldn't fuck this up again?_ Douchebag began to emotionally ground themself in their mind. _I couldn't do it... I couldn't do it..._

The New Kid's mentally hollering and crying to themself and the Freedom Pals in their head. 

_It's all my fault... It's all my fucking fault! What's it made me think that I could even do this responsibility in the first place at all?! What if I screw up just like back then? Everything... Everything I had and hadn't done... It really is my fault...!_

As the giant fart cloud from their digestive system was blown out of their ass and a huge beam of erupted from them, the New Kid could barely hear Human Kite scream out the words "OH SHIT!"

As they and the Freedom Pals were engulfed with the reddish light of their power, Morgan Freeman yell out to the New Kid.

"New Kid, I don't think it's working! Are you sure you're believing in yourself?!"

_I have failed already, haven't I...?_ Douchebag thought to themself once more.

"...! Oh no, you didn't believe in yourself! YOU DIDN'T IN YOURSELF...!" The New Kid heard Morgan Freeman's fleeting words before fading unto their ears and suddenly went unconscious...


	2. Desert, Sea and Beaches of Memories 1 (Major Edit)

Kenny McCormick is the first to woke up amongst the Freedom Pals, with a start; his eyes flying wide open and adjusting to the teal twilight of his strange surroundings.

Known by his vigilante alias of Mysterion (as well as being an actual one), Kenny checks the environment he landed upon; he sits on what seems to be a shallow pond of water even though it doesn't make him wet for some strange reason; around him are dunes of grayish-black sand that varies in size and more of those shallow ponds; when he look up to the sky, it seems that the place that is either illuminated or overcasted by seven permanent solar eclipses that emits a teal radiance, rather than the typical orange or white, around the rims. Kenny looks around once more and while the rest of the Freedom Pals is nowhere to be seen, he did see his friends Stanley "Stan" Marsh (who goes by the gadgeteer hero Toolshed) and Kyle Broflovski (also known as an alien superhero named Human Kite), who are laying on the same pond as Kenny and on a black sandy dune respectively. Kenny stands up as the two LARPers began to wake up. 

"Wh-where the fuck are we?" Kyle is the first to spoke up, though rather groggily, as Kenny helps him to get up along with Stan; it seems the supposedly wet sand doesn't stick to him.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS PLACE?!" The three are startled by a sudden frightened scream of Tweek Tweak, or rather the uninspiredly named Wonder Tweek. They went to the source and saw the aforementioned Tweek (who is panicking), Craig Tucker (who tries to calm his distressed boyfriend and is also boringly named Super Craig), and Clyde Donovan (who went by the rather gross Mosquito), who is in a fetal position and seems to try to calm himself from crying again.

They also convurged with Timmy Burch (whom everyone addressed him as Doctor Timothy), Token Black (known by his superhero name of Tupperware), Timmy Valmer (who goes by his aspiring name Fastpass), Scott Malkinson (also known as Captain Diabetes). Wendy Testaburger and Leopold "Butters" Stotch, known to them as Call Girl and Professor Chaos respectively, also convurged from the different direction. "Don't worry, Wonder Tweek, me and the rest of the Freedom Pals are with you," Craig tries to soothe his boyfriend's distress.

Kenny could only feel a sinking feeling fill his heart as he groaned in dismay and anger. "Oh, this is so damned great," he hollered angrily. "Where the flying fuck did you take us to this time, Butthole?!"

There was no answer. Of course there woudn't be a response from someone who doesn't speak at all, with the exception at Stark's Pond and even then only Cartman, Kyle and Stan are there to hear it. But this time, it felt strange and maybe a little frightening, even for him. It was as if something had gone absolutely wrong.

And he didn't like it. 

"Hang on! Where is the New Kid?"

Wendy was looking around frantically before she yelled again in obvious concern. "Where is _he_? The New Kid's disappeared!"

As response, Stan gawked in horror and concern as well. "Wh-what in the... He's gone!" Stan yelled out. "It's just like Wendy--I mean, Call Girl said!"

"So now Butthole's fucking missing? What the fuck are we gonna do?!" Kyle yelled along with them.

Kenny could feel a strange feeling rise up from stomach, possibly his gut instinct, and he didn't like it. This strange world that the New Kid somehow brought them into seem so sinister, as if something was going to just attack from behind; and yet so benevolently tranquil that it could soothe everyone's worries, insecurities and emotional turmoils as if they're in an escapistic dreamworld. It either made him want to just run away as fast as his legs could take him, or stay and live out his remaining days in peace and never face death ever again.

But Kenny McCormick ain't a pathetic pussy: he wasn't going let some stupid mysterious aura of this place faze him. He was a hero, and a mysterious hero at that! There is no way he was going let this place beat his level of mysteriousness! He's hero name is literally Mysterion for fuck's sake!

"C-come on, you guys!" Suddenly, Jimmy called out and began roaming in the surrounding ponds and dunes. "We need to f-f-find the N-New Kid!"

Doctor Timothy nodded as he placed his finger on the temple of his head. _"_ _Yes, I agree. We need to find the New Kid and get some answers as to what is going on here. Even my mind can't discern what this place is."_

"What happen if we can't find Douchebag and if some monster suddenly attack us?" Butters ask the group, looking relunctant and scared.

"Then we find it out ourselves, wouldn't we," Craig snark at his dispense.

"Super Craig!" Tweek smack his boyfriend's arm as he hissed loudly. "This is serious, you idiot!"

"I know, I know," Craig admittedly said as he follows Jimmy and Doctor Timothy.

Slowly, the rest of the Freedom Pals began to follow their three leads as they travelled furthur into the land that looks like a large version of a beach with no sea at sight, where the place's atmosphere is becoming more temperate and tranquil yet still maintains its emotionless despondency. As they continued to walk amongst the ponds and dunes, Kenny couldn't help but shudder at the feeling of some strange cloud born of gloom above their everyone's heads; unaware that fleeting teal will-o'-the-wisps are watching over them in the vast distance of the place.

* * *

The further they travel into the land, the more of those black sandy dunes keep appearing and more ponds vanishing until it become a treacherous desert of black sand; with the seven permanent eclipses changed from teal solar to reddish-purple lunar, giving the place they stamble upon a more eerie and sinister vibe and ridding off the tranquility associated with the so-called beaches. Kenny couldn't even tell how long they been walking for. Some minutes? Few hours? Damned days?! It was as if the concept of time itself didn't exist within this accurst prison of a world.

"God fucking damned it," Stan said with a hint of exhausted pain. "How long have we walked for already?! My legs feel like absolute shit right now!"

"I agree," Kyle said in the same tone. "I think we need to take a rest."

"Jesus, be patient, you guys!" Wendy hollered despite having an exhausted tone as well. "Maybe we'll able to find something new soon! Don't be lazybums when we're trapped in this place!"

Kenny sighed as the three began to bicker with each other like a polyamorous old married threesome. Just a perfect thing to make the already horrible worse than before. Meanwhile, Scott glanced around with a highly concerned, albeit exhausted look on his freckled face. "Say, is it just me or is this place getting creepier and creepier?"

No one answered him, though everyone already knew the answer; if the aforementioned vast, dry black desert and the looming reddish-purple lunar eclipses that illuminates the skies doesn't answer to the question, then the eerie atmosphere will; the entire place felt like hell, as if they were walking through someone else's darkness and pain. It felt like the black desert is made out of despair and lamentation that had the poor owner trap themself on with no hint of escape except endless dunes made out of black sand. It seemed so... sorrowful.

That's right, sorrowful. Just like how he felt everytime no one remembered his countless deaths; Kenny always wondered of the fact that his rejuvenating immortality is either a gift or a curse, because no one ever realises the grueling pain he had to go though death after death. He could say that it was like a never-ending cycle of death and rebirth where he was doomed to suffer immense amounts of pain... kind of like this prison, actually.

"Hey guys!" Token called out with a happy glint in his eyes. "Shelter!"

Everyone immediately look at Token's direction and saw a somewhat ruined structure mere yards away. The Freedom Pals make haste into the structure with childish glee (except Mysterion, who's an edgelord and thus must not have joy without breaking character). The architecture of the building seem is a strange blend between German Gothic and Japanese designs with the addition of Graeco-Roman pillars inside; not that everyone cares because they either going to rest or scout the place.

"Finally, some good rest!" Stan is the first to hollered out as he laid back onto some rubble with arms rest behind his head and snoozes off immediately.

"Al-al-alright, guys, I'll sc-sc-sc-scout out the area," Jimmy spoke before using his superpower to check out the place.

Kenny could hear Wendy and Kyle apologizing to each other behind and below him when he's on top on the building's ledges; at least they aren't ruining the mood anymore. However, he notices the will-o'-the-wisps in the distance from his ledge. As soon as he blinks, however, the fleeting things disappeared; he rubbed his eyes to make sure whether he's seeing illusions or something, only to see nothing in the distance of the black sandy desert. "Strange," Kenny thought to himself aloud as he ponders. "Looks like I need a rest as well."

Once his watchful yet tired eyes look away from the black sands outside the shelter however, Kenny will not notice that the greenish-blue fiery orbs have emerged from the gaps of the stony, shadow-coloured grains of the dunes and began to creep towards the ruined building while sinking back to the dunes as soon as another pair of watchful yet tired eyes notices them.


	3. Desert, Sea and Beaches of Memories 2 (Medium Edit)

Stan has wake up groggily from his sleep; he stretches his arms when he notices that Wendy is resting on lap. He smiles as he gently stroke his girlfriend's hair when she too groggily wakes up. "Hey there, Sleeping Beauty," Stan affectionally and lightly teased when Wendy slowly sit upright. She meant to make a grumpy pout when suddenly her eyes went wide.

"Duck!" Wendy yells out as she lowered both herself and a very confused Stan to the ground as the sudden bolts of blue fire zipped around the area. Everyone suddenly wakes up from their peaceful naps by the alertful yelp before either ducking and dodging away from or ricochet the blue fiery projectiles with both physical and psionic shields. Suddenly, the fireballs convurged with their respective Graeco-Roman pillar and lit aflame like arcane bonfires atop of the black pedestals. The Freedom Pals are utterly confused with the entire ordeal. "What the hell's going on?!" Kyle shouts with a panicked tone as he tries to check if his kite is on fire or not. 

Not even a mere moment later when Doctor Timothy pressed his finger on his temple and said telepathically; " _Freedom Pals, look at the flames. They're changing!_ "

Everyone began to look attentively upon the transforming blue flames atop of the pillars. The fires seem to be taking a shape reminescent of a screen. It was then that they began to see moving pictures and hearing voices; revealing to the beholders to what seems to be a pair of parents arguing with each other. 

_**"We should be happy that he's made friends in this town so quickly!"** _

_**"We came here to hide. More friends just means more trouble!"** _

It took a moment for everyone to realise who these parents are and belongs to. "W-what?! Hang on!" Kyle yelled in shock first and take a step back. "Hold the fucking phone! Aren't those Butthole's parents?!"

_**"You're being paranoid! You need to lay off of that stuff! It's changing you"** _

_**"Oh, LAY OFF! It's the one thing that helps me relax from you're stupid shit!"** _

Tweek winced at the scene. "Jesus Christ! Is this what he's dealing with everyday?!"

Kenny could bite his bottom lip in response. He knew how it was like to always hear parents arguing with each other. His parents weren't any better, either--always screaming and beating other up whenever they were drunk or high on drugs. The only bright side of the situation is that they really loved each other, but only shown when they were sober. He couldn't imagine how it would have been like if his parents were to scream and yell at each other all day, all night long. How annoying would it get? It would be even worse if they were arguing because of him or his siblings... wait.

_**"Oh hey, whippersnapper!"** _

The sudden change of tone and attitude from the father puts the Freedom Pals off guard. Within that scene, they saw the New KId standing by the open bathroom door as if they were there during the argument.

_**"Didn't see you there!"** _

_**"Your friends are downstairs, kiddo! Get out there and play!"** _

Freedom Pals watches as the parents nervously chuckles as they leave, with the father going to their bedroom and the mother went downstairs.

"Did they just try to hide their arguments from their child even though he knows about them?" Craig snarks at the parents' perception. They continue to watch on as the New KId peeks through bedroom's keyhole where their father is eating what resembles brownies on the bed and give out a quiet sigh of melancholy.

Butters immediately spoke afterwards as he said what Kenny had in his mind prior to the sudden mood whiplash. "Is it just me, or is the New KId's dad is being unhappy that he's hanging out with us...?" Butters ask the group. "This is some sort of Butthole's memory, isn't it?"

Stan looked at the self-proclaimed supervillain in confusion. "But why the hell are able to look into his memories in the first place? Just... what is going on here?! Are we in his fucking head or something?!"

" _I think I know what's going here, but it's going to be a bit confusing to explain this._ "

All eyes turned to the boy on a wheelchair with The Thinker's pose. Taking a deep breath, Doctor Timothy places his finger on his temple once more. " _Due to the memories are presented and the involvement of time travel along with what this place is... it's safe to assume that those aren't actually memories but instead are temperal recordings of the New KId's past due to not not being in his own point of view and instead seems to be in third-person._ "

"Then what about this strange world?" Wendy ask with concern. _"It is maybe a dimension accidentally manifested by the New Kid's own emotions and mind thanks to the Seven Layer Quesarrito Chipotle Beefy Nacho Supreme._ "

"Sort of like Imaginationland," Stan said nervously and concerned. "But if this place really is the manifestion of the New Kid's feelings along with third-person recordings of his past, then that means..."

"You got to be shitting me right now!"

Clyde turned to Kyle with nervous confusion in his mind. "What is it, Human Kite? What's going one?!"

Kyle immediately swerved towards Doctor Timothy with a frustrated and frightened look in his eyes. "This is fucking ridiculous!" He hollered. "If this damned fucking world really is the physical manifestion of his feelings, the this black desert and the creepy moons in sky really are representations of what the New Kid's been feeling all this entire damned fucking time?!"

Doctor Timothy looked down with a slightly sad gaze before he nodded. " _It's entirely possible._ "

Butters quickly pipped in. "D-does this mean we have to get the New Kid to change, if what you said is true..."

Before Doctor TImothy answers his question however, the blue flames began to act up again and let out a somewhat different scene with the same voices. The Freedom Pals put off guard by the sudden development but none the nevertheless become attentive of what the flames are unfolding.

_**"What are you doing even talking to the school counselor?! Why'd you answer the phone?!"  
** _

_**"Have you lost your fucking mind?! Our child felt the need to go talk to the school counselor. Doesn't that bother you at all?!"** _

The group watches and listen as the New KId's parents arguing while unaware of their child's presence. 

_**"So you told him the truth?!"  
** _

_**"Yes, I said she's a girl."** _

"WHAT?!" Everyone, except Wendy (who is tensely concerned), Doctor Timothy (who is simply shocked by the newfound knowledge) and Craig (who simply doesn't care at all, as per usual), shout in unison, made out of shock and confusion about this new development.

_**"You dumb bitch--you'll ruin everything!"** _

_**"I don't have to listen to this from a stoned out POT HEAD! I need a drink!"** _

_**"Sure, drown your problems in Chardonnay, you stupid skank-- oh hey, whippersnapper!"**_ The mood whiplash happens once more but it doesn't seem to affect as much as the indirect gender reveal itself.

_**"Have a fun day out playing?"** _

Everyone, with the exception of Wendy and Craig as well as possibly Kenny and Doctor Timothy, are still confused by the reveal as the New Kid's father nervously chuckles.

_**"Well, I'm exhausted. Gonna get ready for bed."  
** _

_**"Dinner's on the table if you want, punk. But then straight to bed, OK?"** _

"No wonder the New Kid has rather big raisins..." While still shocked, Clyde said with hindsight. "I thought it's just a character sheet thing," Kyle ponders as well. Wendy, Craig, Kenny and Doctor Timothy however, continues to watch the New Kid melancholically eats her dinner with a sad sigh while everyone else tries to readjust their viewpoint. 

**_Let's hope I didn't scare the guys out when I came out,_** The Freedom Pals suddenly become attentively to the New Kid's thoughts, which sounded rather feminine. 

She then lets out a mental raspy chuckle. _**Who am I kidding? Even if the boys kicked me out, I won't be easily intergrated into the girl group either.**_ Stan and Kyle hear the familiar voice that they heard back in Stark's Pond as well as having everyone, especially Wendy, first hear the rather masculine tone for a girl, even if it's mental.

 _ **I'll** **be like a tomboyish Spotted Hyena amongst**_ _ **a bunch of girly Cats; which makes me an eye-sore among them, even if they help try to intergrate help me intergrate into the group. I... I just have different interests due to being alone and having no friends at all for my entire life until now.**_ The voice began to sound rather androgynous as she mentally speak to herself before finish her dinner. She got off the chair and went upstairs. _**Looks like either I'll be shut-in and going to be self-taught online in the Deep Web again... or move from this town to anotther one again...**_

Everyone look at each other after they listened to the rather despondent thoughts they just heard and have a long silence aside from the New Kid peeking through to the keyhole to see that her mother sobbing while her father began munch on a brownie again. Finally, Wendy broke up the awkward silence.

"I... I knew the New Kid's identity since the day she moves in." Predicably, everyone looks at her with inquisitive eyes. Before they ask any questions, however, she answers them immediately. "Since she's, well, the New KId, I have to know everything about her and her family given the fact that they're moving into South Park; ya'know, the last place you going live because of all the weird-ass shit is going on around here."

"I used my hacking skills to check her Facebook account and while it said that her gender is male, prior changes designated her as female instead," Wendy continues on. "It wasn't until Mr. Mackey's conversation with both the New Kid and her mom that confirms my suspicions." She then turned look at Stan, Kyle and Kenny. "You guys know her better than me, despite my efforts. So tell me why she and her family are hiding in South Park and why the fuck are government agents and black helicopters suddenly appear during the raid on Clyde's treehouse?!"

The trio look at each before Kenny answers her, and persumably everyone's question that lingers on their mind. "It's because of his-- I mean, her special ability to gain followers so quickly that, before she turns to 5, the New KId have garnered around 3.2 billion friends on Facebook alone," Kenny explained in his gruff Mysterion voice. "Hence maybe why she couldn't speak so that it could keep her identity a secret."

"Though recents events may have made her into a rebel," Kenny said with a hint of speculation. "I suspect that, while the government is still seeks her ability--heck, I even kick a bunch of government agents' asses, the New Kid may have grown a bit overconfidant given that she technically kick some government ass and never seem to come back." Kenny takes deep breathe. "However, that same overconfidance have been manipulated by Cartman and whatever transpires, we ended up here. Of course, this is just speculation but--"

_**"Sweetie..."** _

He was cut off by what seems to be the voice of the New Kid's mother, realizing that they haven't paid attention to the blue flames. They saw her holding a wine bottle and glass on her hands by the doorway, with the New KId laying on her bed.

_**"I just want you to know that... whatever happens... mommy always loved you. Goodnight sweetheart."** _

The mother then promptly closes the door and the blue flames extinguishes themselves into nothing.

Everyone are in the state of awkward silence once more, until Doctor Timothy spoke up telepathically. " _Whatever the New Kid's circumstances may be, we must find in order to get back to our world. We may find structures like these to wait out the so-called 'memory-flames' in order to gain new information on her and her family._ "

 _"Right now, we'll be roaming once more until we all found either a structure or the New Kid herself._ " Everyone nodded as they began to move out of the building. Suddenly, the structure crumbles into black sand as soon as they're somewhere more than five yards away behind them; not that it matters, anyway. They'll find her, even if the terrain are treacherous and will halt them at some point or another.

Once more, the blue will-o'-the-wisps creeps far behind them; always watching until they found a new structure...


	4. Desert, Sea and Beaches of Memories 3 (Slight Edit)

"Wait," Wendy said with a rather inquisitive tone towards Clyde. "What do you mean the New Kid have rather big raisins?"

By the time she questions the mosquito-themed superhero, everyone had already been roaming through the familiar-looking yet entirely different beaches; the positions of the permanent teal eclipses in the sky have suggested to be the case. Clyde seems to be confused by her question, so Wendy instead ask the other Freedom Pals. "So, what features does the New Kid have that questions her identity?" Everyone came to the halt and began to stared at both her and Clyde.

"To be honest," Stan said casually. "New Kid's pretty much a Bridon Gueermo look-alike with a mole under her left eye. Heck, until now I thought she has the best secret identity 'cause sometimes you can't tell if she's a boy or a girl."

"I thought New Kid's just p-pu-pulling the feminine look like it's the 8-8-8-80's," Jimmy followed Stan's lead to answer Wendy's question. 

"I always thought on how my partner's skin had such smooth skin and it may relate to some sort of product brand or something," Scott said as he ponders. "Though it might still be the case since she still have smooth skin despite her numerous encounters, both presume and certain."

"She does kinda look like a boy AND a girl, or neither..." Craig said in his usual monotone voice.

"At some point, I pretty much told the New Kid to embrace, at the time, _his_ inner femininity and told _him_ to be true to _himself_ when Butthole's changing customes." Kyle lets out a small chuckle. "I think I only made her even more ambiguous when I told her to be true to herself."

Doctor Timothy let out a sigh and pressed his temple. _"Mosquito, how come you're the only one who notices the New Kid have any female physique--particularly developing breasts--while the rest of us thinks she's androgynous or Mr. Gueermo's doppelganger with a mole? Especially when you somehow failed to connect the rather obvious dots like the rest of us except Wendy?"_

Everyone suddenly look at him. Knowing the fact that he's a little pervert second only to Kenny McCormick, Clyde himself feel like an absolute idiot about. "Wait," the insect-themed superhero realized and ask the lone girl of the group. "Why you didn't tell everyone that the New Kid's a girl?"

Wendy cocked a brow as if she just heard a stupid question. "From her silent nature, she seems to rather be mysterious for whatever reason." Suddenly, Kenny just sneezes out of nowhere, making everyone around to either excuse him or just tell him he's being gross.

Wendy then goes back to what she's saying. "Plus, I'll probably have my ass kicked when I did. Knowing the New Kid's combat prowess and strength, I prefer not to provoke her even if she seems stoic. Heck, do you see the grin on her face when she uses one of her plant powers?"

Every man on the team agrees, knowing full well that despite her size, the New Kid could best everyone to a fight, equalling that of Kenny's own. Looks like Clyde's back to square one of trying to defending himself again.

"W-w-w-what is t-that?" The Freedom Pals have stop their conversation and began to look what Jimmy pointed at with one of his crutches.

In the distant in a couple of yards, a lone ruined pillar being sat by some strange being with glowing eyes looking directly at them. Everyone are tensed by the stare as the being leaps from the pillar, landing on a pond beneath and began to stride towards them in quadrupedal locomotion. The being become closer, the Freedom Pals realizes that it's the New Kid but with strange features; she seems to have feline ears and eyes in place of her original human ones; she strolls in a rather cat-like fashion with digitigrade hindlimbs; and strangest is that she sports twin tails tipped with the familiar blue fire. She also seems to wear her Thief outfit back since when all of them play Fighters of Zaron LARP session, albeit unhooded to reveal the aforementioned cat ears on the sides of her head.

The feline New Kid have encircles the group of superheroes as if checking like an animalistic predator. The Freedom Pals are still tensed, probably out of fear, though Clyde seems to be at breaking point of crying despite his mental attempt to not do at this moment. Doctor Timothy try to calm the somewhat chubby boy using his mental powers when suddenly the cat-girl stands up in front of Clyde, causing the poor giant bug cosplayer fall on his ass and cries with fleeting pleas about not wanted to be eaten. The team then taken battle positions to combat the potential menace, ready to press either button of their fight-or-flight responses. 

However, the cat-girl simply put up one of her clenched human hands with a finger pointing to the sky, suggesting that she doesn't want to fight. Finally, she speaks. 

"Follow me if you all want to know your friend better," the cat-girl spoke with a rather raspy feminine tone before turning her back and went back to her quadrupedal stance to take leaping strides. When she went back sitting on the ruined pillar, she waves her hands to the air. 

Everyone stare at each other with confused looks while Clyde is trying to calm himself again. They continue to share perplexing glances, waiting for some sort of a response from each member. 

"Should we trust... this Cat Kid...?" Tupperware is the first to spoke up since the silence began. While everyone mentally thinks that it's a rather stupid name, it has to made due since they have an inquiry to be handed with.

 _"Whatever this cat-person is, she's maybe the key to finding the New Kid in this place."_ While Doctor Timothy share the group's mental sentiment of distrusting the strange hybrid that could be a potential threat to their wellbeing, he knows full well that being stuck here is good as being dead anyway. The Freedom Pals, though relunctant, agrees to follow the cat-girl furthur into the black dunes and shallow ponds.

* * *

Ever since the departure from the pillar a mile ago, the Freedom Pals and the cat-girl began to see another temple in the horizons of the beaches. Unlike the last temple however, which is nothing more than ruins, this one seems to be in peak condition; if anything, it seems like it was taken with great care rather than neglect. However, the architecture seems to remained the same, with the temple itself looks like a mix between a Gothic cathedral and a Japanese pagoda. Finally, the arrive at the base of the towering temple, which is consisted of stairs overshadowed with three teal torii gates.

"So, uh," Clyde have finally spoken when the being seems to be no threat throughout the journey. "What's your name?" At first, it seems like a stupid question, with Wendy almost facepalming before the cat-girl replied.

"Komata." Everyone are abit shock at this revelation when Komata stops by the base of the stairs, still in her quadrupedal stance. "What I am is an alter that lives in this strange world. I am connected to your friend yet I am seperate like an individual."

The Freedom Pals are confused by her raspy words, making Butters to respond with a question; "Like... like an alter ego or something?"

The feline doppelganger simply shook her head, furthur confusing the group as she put on an bipedal stance again before taking steps on the stairs.

"This Sleuth-Temple will have the necessary knowledge for your future journeys," Komata spoke aloud without looking back at them while continuing taking steps. 

"What you mean the--" Kyle was cut off when the will-o'-the-wisps suddenly plunge themselves into the Graeco-Roman pillars once more, though this time seems to activate the huge metallic doors to open wide. Without furthur responeses from the cat-girl, who already enters the place, the Freedom Pals has no choice but to follow the guide into the so-called Sleuth-Temple.

* * *

In the far distance of the structure, however, is a familiar face that takes a strange form, spying afar with a small telescope like a pirate. "Tsk," the figure disgruntled at the sight. The figure seems to have an entourage of doppelgangers that, while sharing the same face and build, have different clothes, equipment and colours that make them distinct from one and another. The sands and water suddenly went alive and taking large forms of arms and hands, surrounding the group to entrap them.

The figure, seemingly the leader of the group, have crush the telescope with her one hand into bended pieces with obvious annoyance made of anger. She seems to telekinetically manipulate the sand dune beneath and began transforming the cluster of grains into what it seems to be a massive otsuchi warhammer. 

"GET THE FUCK OFF, HEAVENLY KINGS OF MEMORIES AND DEFENSE!" The figure roars out a masculine bellow before smashing the hand-like constructs into splatters of grain and water.


	5. Sleuth-Temple of Knowledge 1

As everyone entered the structure, the Freedom Pals are somewhat blinded by the shimmering light in complete contrast from the outside world's dull eternal twilight. When their eyes are finishing adjusting, all they see is sheer beauty; the place is adorned in gilted porcelain and ivory, with the black sandstone being used as a sort-of endoskeleton for the entire architecture if the clean and carved-out crevices are any indication on the matter. The pillars, tiles and vases seemed to have golden patterns all over them with great variation; unbeknownst to them is that the aforementioned golden patterns is the _kintsugi_ repair on the seemingly delibrate broken pieces to give the place a far more mystical atmosphere than it already have been. Around them all is a golden spiralling staircase attached to the walls. 

"The knowledge you all need is in the final level," Komata gestured upwards; the cat-girl then procedes to guide the group through the stairs. Actually, it was the elevator within the spiralling staircase that she guide them due to a certain cripple on a wheelchair with an PHD in pisonics and making franchise plans.

Right between the staircase and the pillar containing the elevator is what seems to an engine order telegraph of a ship, adorned with a porcelain base and the golden skeleton of frames surrounding the pale thing. With the pull of the lever to slot that said of the telegraph, they hear the elevator descent from above before slowly stopping and reveal a rather spacious chamber, as if the elevator is the TARDIS or something. The cat-girl gestured them to enter the chamber, which they obeyed.

The chamber reveals its features to the group; the walls are made of shoji paper and frames, Graeco-Roman pillar-esque pedestals sat by vases and Byzantine concaved domes in the ceiling; and the centre also feature leathery couches that faces each other. Immediately the group began huddling on said couches to rest their asses off once more. Komata rolls her eyes at the group and began looking at the console on the only pedestal without a vase; she proceeds to press one of the buttons and the elevator began ascending.

"What about the other levels?" Scott ask curiously to the feline humanoid that is his partner's doppelganger while resting on a couch's frame. The group are adjusting to their surroundings while resting on the couches, with some went back up and either admire the adorned place or, in Kenny's case, leaning on the wall frame.

"They contain very private memories," she told him in a matter-of-factly tone, albeit raspy as usual. The cat-girl then leans on the wall as she watches the group that hold curious looks on their faces

Kenny McCormick's head went up and give glances to his teammates and the cat-girl, unknowingly breaking character when he's making a grin for a very perverse reason. "Really, Kenny?" Craig snarks in monotone, making Kenny to look away and began smacking his forehead for being a little pervert again. 

"Don't worry," Komata spoke out, making everyone abit confused. "You been here for approximately eight days in Dream Time and estimated to between around two to four hours in presumably Real Time; if we're got out of the time travel tunnel that is."

The Freedom Pals halted with shocked expressions, making Komata sigh at making a dumb mistake she made. 

"E-eights days?!" Tweak said aloud, obviously with a panic tone. Everyone are having the same thoughts, promting the cat-girl to reassure them. 

"This is your friend's Dreamrealm, where time is vastly different from that of the waking world's time," she tells them their current ordeal as well as trying to calm down. "As such, while you all are here, experiencing several days or possibly months, in the waking world it'll probably a couple of hours. Of course, we're not sure if we're still technically traveling in time until we're all wake up into reality."

The Freedom Pals share confused glances, not sure if they're supposed to be relieved or not.

When pondering the name "Dreamrealm" however, Butters suddenly makes a weird expression on his little pale face and doing forced groaning noises. Everyone, especially the cat-girl, looks very perplexed at, well, whatever the hell the supervilllain wanna-be is doing or at least trying to do.

"Uh, Butters," Stan looks at his blond friend and fellow fourth grader, expression perplexity at the strange sight. "Are you taking a shit or something?"

"I'm trying to imagine a bucket of lava into existence," Butters spoke while still groaning and squinting his eyes even harder; well, looks like everyone have gotten the same idea as Stan does. The feline alter, realizing what he meant, let out a sigh and began to pick out one of the pouches somewhere on her garments.

Intrigued, the Freedom Pals (except Butters, who is still looking like he's taking a shit, though the young blonde is having his one good eye open to see what the cat-girl is doing) began to attentively watch as Komata is telekinetically manipulate the black sand and water out the pouch and began swirling in the air between the superhero group and the cat-girl. The grains of sand and droplets of water are then transmute into a single kunai, slowly descent into Komata's hand before carefully grasp by handle.

Both superheroes and villain, who has been snapped from his pretend shitting, are somewhat awed by the spectacle; except Craig, who is rather indifferent as usual. 

"Only native inhabitants of the Dreamrealm can actually create things into being with imagination in this world we all currently resides," the feline humanoid said as she caress the kunai with her human fingers. She then fling the weapon into one of the nearby vases in the elevator and impaled it, which is followed by a volley of them. The banner itself then crumbles into sand and water on the elevator's floor, only to reformed back to its proper place in the wall and the collection of kunai telekinetically went back to the feline human's belts. 

While the Freedom Pals except Craig are in awe (with a certain doctor pondering on such the ability wielded by its habitants such as the cat-girl) once again, Komata continues the rather suggestive conversation. "Anyway, which one of you goes by the name Stanley Marsh?" She spoke politely through her raspy tone. 

The group except Doctor Timothy, who is still pondering, look at the cat-girl with curious looks once more for such a question before Stan responded with a confused _yes_ to Komata.

Before the cat-girl spoke out, the elevator stops and opens the doors to reveal yet another doppelganger of the New Kid, who is now wearing Graeco-Roman clothing and sporting goatish horns on her head. Komata, not even looking at the figure behind the opened doors as if she already knows them and what's going to happen, let out a very frustrated sigh and rubbed against two of her temples with both hands.

"That is because your father, Randy Marsh I presumed to be his name, has been anal probed on an alien spaceship," the figure bowed in greeting, though the Freedom Pals notices the sly smirk on her face. "Other people of interest included Mr. Mackey, Craig "Feldspar" Tucker, Mr. Slave, and of course your friend--"

"No time for dreamy arousals, Madam Pimp Tiberine," the cat-girl spoke out as she shove the satyress out to let the group out. The stranger, presumably named Tiberine, give a distasteful glare at her feline doppelganger.

"Said the Cat who instigated such a suggestive conversation in the first place," the satyress let out yet another smirk towards the cat-girl in a sarcastic tone. 

Annoyed, the cat-girl turned to the robed satyress. "I was going to warn him and his friends, especially his mate, about you before you'll do something with the two," Komata raspingly spoke out with obvious venom.

Unhindered, the satyress scolds with a snark tone. "It's very unnecessary. The only reason why you instigated it is because you'll simply want them to relax, possibly even using the only--"

"You may think of it as a spectator sport, but the rest of us don't," the feline doppelganger retorts. "Plus, if they really wanted to know everything, they have to know all the secrets and knowledge the entire collective have, especially the far more important ones."

As the two fellow doppelgangers continues to banter to one and another, everyone's perplexed on what's going on; even Doctor Timothy can't concern with what the hell the two beings are talking about. Stan's even more confused due to the kind of conversation they left off, especially about his father and one of his teammates getting probed by aliens.

One would hope that the knowledge they'll acquire in this building would have worth like the cat-girl suggests.


End file.
